The
History of GlasgowChapter XVIII -
Collection of the King's Customs

IN the thirteenth
century the chief collectors of the royal revenues were, firstly the
sheriffs, who gathered in the rents of the crown lands, the feudal
casualties and the fines imposed by themselves and by the Justiciar
and Chamberlain at their circuit courts; and, secondly, the
magistrates and custumars of the royal burghs who accounted for the
burghal fermes and customs. Periodically accounts were rendered to
the Chamberlain, who was both receiver and disburser of the crown
revenues, and these accounts as filed were called Exchequer Rolls.
Unfortunately no original rolls of a date prior to 1326 have been
preserved, and the Earl of Haddington, who in the seventeenth
century examined earlier rolls which have since disappeared, was so
sparing with his transcripts that these afford little information
about the burghs. From the account of Alexander Hunyeth, sheriff of
Lanark in 1264, a few items are extracted by the earl, one recording
payment for the carriage of lead from Crawford Muir to Rutherglen,
and another the purchase of ninety-eight sheep which were sent for
the king's use at a meeting of the great men of the realm, known as
a "colloquium," held at Edinburgh that year. [Exch. Rolls, 1. p.
30.] The amount collected by Hugh of Dalzell, sheriff of Lanark in
1288, was £522 7s. 11½d.; and his expenditure included 22s. paid for
two enclosures called "ponfaldys" (penfolds), one at Lanark and the
other at Rutherglen. [Ib. p. 40.]

The. crown revenues
collected by bailies of royal burghs consisted of the fixed yearly
rent paid by each burgess for his separate toft or tenement, called
Burgh Maill, the fines awarded in the Burgh Court, and the toll or
petty custom on articles brought to the market either from the
country or from abroad, and payable either at the town gate, in the
market, or on leaving the town. As the burgh of Glasgow was situated
on the bishop's territory burgh maill was not payable to the king,
and the burgh court was presided over not by the king's but by the
bishop's bailies, and thus crown revenue was not collected by the
magistrates of the burgh of Glasgow. In such circumstances it seems
to have been considered expedient, as already suggested, [Antea, p.
39.] for the bailies of Rutherglen to continue the collection of
such crown customs as were payable by those dwellers in Glasgow
barony who formerly frequented the Rutherglen market. After about
fifty years' experience in the working of this system some
modification in the method of collection was considered desirable,
and by a charter dated 29th October, 1226, King Alexander directed
his bailies or officers of Rutherglen not to take toll or custom in
the town of Glasgow, but to do this at the cross of "Schedenestun"
as it was wont to be taken of old. The place thus fixed as still
available for the collection of custom seems to have been situated
close to the eastward boundary of the original royalty, on lands
anciently bearing the curious designation of the Town of the
Daughter of Sadin and now called Shettleston. [Glasg. Chart. I. pt.
ii. p. 12. See also antea, pp. 54, 55.] The only known allusion to a
cross at the place is that contained in Alexander's charter, but it
is probable enough that the place of collection formed the centre of
an ancient village, and it was no doubt on one of the highways
leading to Rutherglen.

Whether the charter
of 1226 carried exemption from customs to any extent, or whether no
more than a change in the method of collection was thereby effected,
is a question which cannot now be definitely answered, but in
support of the theory that partial exemption was secured it is
significant that, by a more drastic order passed at a later period,
the barony seems to have been wholly relieved from liability for
such dues. In consequence of a complaint made by Bishop Turnbull
that the burghs of Renfrew and Rutherglen had caused disturbance and
trouble to those who brought goods to the market of Glasgow to sell
or buy, thereby hurting and prejudicing the privilege and custom
granted by the King's predecessors to the Kirk of Glasgow, King
James II., by letters under his privy seal, dated 4th February,
1449-50, charged the bailies, burgesses and communities of the two
burghs in future to make no disturbance or impediment to any of his
lieges coming or going to the market of Glasgow with merchandise,
but to suffer them to come, go, buy and sell freely and peaceably
without any demand. Moreover, these burghs, and all others, were
forbidden to come within the barony of Glasgow, or within any lands
pertaining to St. Mungo's freedom, to take toll or custom, by water
or land, from any persons coming or going to the market,
notwithstanding any letters of the king's predecessors granted to
the burghs of Renfrew or Rutherglen or any other burghs. [Glasg.
Chart. I. pt. ii. p. 27.] From this time, therefore, the burghs of
Renfrew and Rutherglen must have ceased to collect crown customs in
any part of the barony of Glasgow, and in consequence of the system
of collection then in operation the loss must have fallen on the
burghs themselves and not on the crown. For a long time past the
crown revenues had been leased to the respective burghs at fixed
yearly rents, and any surplus remaining after payment of that sum
was appropriated for the purposes of the common good. [Parts of the
Govan lands were at different times claimed for the shire of
Renfrew, and it must have been from such portions that the bailies
of Renfrew had been collecting custom within Glasgow barony previous
to 1449. On the subject of county boundaries in the Govan lands some
intricate questions have been raised, and these are discussed in
Glasgow Memorials, pp. 119-25.]

In addition to the
customs collected for the crown each burgh levied duties or customs
for its own purposes, such as maintaining streets in proper
condition, keeping order in the burgh, upholding market places and
superintending the markets. Such dues merchants of Rutherglen and
Renfrew, like other traffickers, had to meet when frequenting
Glasgow market on business. As an illustration of the operation of
this impost it may be mentioned that in 1304, during the time when
King Edward of England had assumed the task of governing this
country, the Bishop of Glasgow asked his authority to distrain the
burgesses of Rutherglen for payment of toll which had been claimed
from them, because the bishop and his town of Glasgow had been "seised,
from time beyond memory," of toll from these burgesses on all goods
sold or bought in Glasgow. The Guardian and Chamberlain of Scotland
were instructed to inquire into the facts and report, [Bain's
Calendar, vol. ii. No. 1627.] but though nothing further on the
subject is recorded it need not be doubted that the former practice
of paying such dues was continued. So late as the year 1575 the
lords of council decided that the community of Rutherglen were then
liable for Glasgow market dues, "conforme to the lovable use
observit past memour of man," [Glasg. Chart. I. pt. ii. p. 166.] a
and therefore it may safely be assumed that there never had been any
serious interruption to their imposition and collection.

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